editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Science editor Geoff Brumfiel oversees coverage of everything from butterflies to black holes across NPR News programs and on NPR.org. Prior to becoming the editor for fundamental research news in April of 2016, Brumfiel worked for three years as a reporter covering physics and space. Brumfiel has carried his microphone into ghost villages created by the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. He's tracked the journey of highly enriched uranium as it was shipped out of Poland. For a story on how animals drink, he crouched for over an hour and tried to convince his neighbor's cat to lap a bowl of milk. Before NPR, Brumfiel was based in London as a senior reporter for Nature Magazine from 2007-2013. There he covered energy, space, climate, and the physical sciences. In addition to reporting, he was a member of the award-winning Nature podcast team. From 2002 – 2007, Brumfiel was Nature Magazine's Washington Correspondent, reporting on Congress, the Bush administration, NASA, and theNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Geoff BrumfielSun, 18 Mar 2018 04:57:36 +0000Geoff Brumfielhttp://apr.org
Geoff BrumfielThe type of nerve agent used to poison a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K. was developed in a top-secret laboratory in Moscow and was once a closely held secret of the Russian government. Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found slumped on a bench in the city of Salisbury on March 4. Experts quickly assessed that Skripal — a former Russian intelligence official accused of spying for the British — had been poisoned with a nerve agent. On Monday, British Prime Minister Theresa May named the agent in a speech before Parliament. "It is now clear that Mr. Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia," she said. "This is part of a group of nerve agents known as Novichok." Novichok agents are extremely rare. "As far as I know, I don't know anybody who knows how to make it except these guys in Russia," says Dan Kaszeta , a chemical weapons expert with Strongpoint Security in London. "They've been a deep, darkNerve Agent Found In U.K. Is Rare And Definitely Russianhttp://apr.org/post/nerve-agent-found-uk-rare-and-definitely-russian
126480 as http://apr.orgMon, 12 Mar 2018 21:18:00 +0000Nerve Agent Found In U.K. Is Rare And Definitely RussianGeoff Brumfielhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sAhFmRIJ7U In his annual state of the nation address on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile that he claimed could fly indefinitely and deliver a warhead to any point on the earth's surface. The weapon seems so fantastical that some analysts simply didn't believe the initial reports of the missile that appeared on social media early Thursday. "I had my doubts," says Pavel Podvig, who runs the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces blog . Podvig thought that perhaps something was lost in translation. But after watching the speech for himself on YouTube , he realized Putin had really made the claim: "Apparently, that's what he said." According to Putin's prepared remarks to the Russian Federal Assembly, he said that "in late 2017, Russia successfully launched its latest nuclear-powered missile at the Central training ground. During its flight, the nuclear-powered engine reached its design capacityExperts Aghast At Russian Claim Of Nuclear-Powered Missile With Unlimited Rangehttp://apr.org/post/experts-aghast-over-russian-claim-nuclear-powered-missile-unlimited-range
125897 as http://apr.orgThu, 01 Mar 2018 22:41:00 +0000Experts Aghast At Russian Claim Of Nuclear-Powered Missile With Unlimited RangeGeoff BrumfielAs the news broke of a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, hundreds of Twitter accounts believed to be under Russian sway pivoted. Many had been tweeting about places like Syria and Ukraine — countries where Russia is seeking to strengthen its influence. Suddenly the accounts shifted to hashtags like #guncontrol, #guncontrolnow and #gunreformnow. Tweets mentioning Nikolas Cruz, the name of the shooting suspect, spiked. For Bret Schafer, an analyst with Hamilton 68 , a site tracking Russian influence on Twitter, the pattern is becoming all too familiar. Hamilton 68 follows 600 accounts run by the Russian government, Russian trolls, bots and individuals sympathetic to the Russian point of view. Data collected by the site over the past few months suggests that Russian social media accounts are now regularly seizing on divisive or tragic news to rile up segments of American society. "The Kremlin doesn't care about gun control in America, they have no skin in this game,"As An American Tragedy Unfolds, Russian Agents Sow Discord Onlinehttp://apr.org/post/american-tragedy-unfolds-russian-agents-sow-discord-online
125143 as http://apr.orgFri, 16 Feb 2018 15:31:00 +0000As An American Tragedy Unfolds, Russian Agents Sow Discord OnlineGeoff Brumfielhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FgPBGteLzU The Trump administration released a report on the state of America's nuclear weaponry on Friday. The assessment, known as a Nuclear Posture Review, mainly concerns U.S. nukes and missiles. But buried in the plan is a mention of a mysterious Russian weapon called "Status-6." On paper, at least, Status-6 appears to be a kind of doomsday device. The report refers to it as "a new intercontinental, nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered, undersea autonomous torpedo." "The radius of total or near-total destruction is the size of a pretty large metropolitan area, actually," says Edward Geist, a Russia specialist at the Rand Corp. who has spent time looking at the weapon . "It's difficult to imagine in normal terms." Status-6 made its first public appearance in 2015, while Russian President Vladimir Putin was visiting with his generals in the city of Sochi. Russia state television reported on the visit. The camera shows Putin seated at a long table. Then itBuried In Trump's Nuclear Report: A Russian Doomsday Weaponhttp://apr.org/post/buried-trumps-nuclear-report-russian-doomsday-weapon
124333 as http://apr.orgFri, 02 Feb 2018 19:34:00 +0000Buried In Trump's Nuclear Report: A Russian Doomsday WeaponGeoff BrumfielCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Just seven days after his inauguration, President Trump ordered the Pentagon to conduct a review - a review of the nation's nuclear weapons. That review is almost complete, and it paints a picture of a more dangerous nuclear world. It also recommends some pretty big changes to U.S. policy. NPR's Geoff Brumfiel covers nuclear weapons. He's here now. Welcome. GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE: Thank you. KELLY: How par for the course is this? Presidents - do they always come into office, get elected, take the oath, order up a nuclear review? BRUMFIEL: (Laughter) Well, it is not required, but it has become increasingly common. So President George W. Bush did a review. Barack Obama did the last one in 2010. It's called a Nuclear Posture Review, and so it's sort of a summation... KELLY: The other NPR. BRUMFIEL: The other NPR, indeed - of where we are with nuclear weapons, what kind of weapons we have, what our policies are. The HuffingtonReview Of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Paints A Picture Of A More Dangerous Nuclear Worldhttp://apr.org/post/review-us-nuclear-weapons-paints-picture-more-dangerous-nuclear-world
123375 as http://apr.orgThu, 18 Jan 2018 00:01:00 +0000Review Of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Paints A Picture Of A More Dangerous Nuclear WorldGeoff BrumfielThis year, deep inside a mountain, North Korea detonated a giant nuclear bomb. The weapon was powerful ; at least 10 times more destructive than the bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II. The North claimed it was an advanced, thermonuclear design. The test came just months after a report that some intelligence officials believed North Korea had successfully "miniaturized" some of its nukes in order to fit them on top of missiles . The apparently rapid progress alarmed politicians and pundits, and it worried average Americans, many of whom hadn't thought much about nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War. But a 71-year-old truck driver named John Coster-Mullen wasn't surprised. Nuclear weapons are not particularly "hard" to design and build, he says. "Compared to what they do in manufacturing today for making a light bulb, these are simple. They really are," he says. Coster-Mullen is an unlikely judge of North Korea's nuclear progress. He works nights for aNorth Korea Designed A Nuke. So Did This Truck Driverhttp://apr.org/post/north-korea-designed-nuke-so-did-truck-driver
122225 as http://apr.orgTue, 26 Dec 2017 10:05:00 +0000North Korea Designed A Nuke. So Did This Truck DriverGeoff BrumfielThe intercontinental ballistic missile that North Korea launched on Wednesday appears to be significantly larger and more powerful than previous versions, according to independent analysts. "It's a monster," says Vipin Narang, an associate professor at MIT who tracks the North's nuclear capabilities. The missile is so much larger than previous versions that Narang suspects it could carry a powerful thermonuclear weapon, regardless of whether the North has managed to make a compact, missile-friendly version. "They wouldn't have to miniaturize much," Narang says. Other analysts are less sure about what the missile could carry and where it could reach. David Wright, a rocket expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says the devil remains in the details surrounding the rocket's engines and the weight of the warhead it carries. Still, he believes that this missile gives the North Koreans the ability to deliver a nuclear warhead to U.S. soil. "I think at this point they could," he says.New North Korean Missile Is A 'Monster'http://apr.org/post/new-north-korean-missile-monster
120839 as http://apr.orgThu, 30 Nov 2017 19:47:00 +0000New North Korean Missile Is A 'Monster'Geoff BrumfielNorth Korea says a new intercontinental ballistic missile tested on Wednesday proves it has a nuclear deterrent that can reach any target in the United States. According to a statement from the Korean Central News Agency, the ICBM is capable of carrying a "super-large heavy warhead, which is capable of striking the whole mainland of the U.S." The missile was launched in the early morning hours local time on Wednesday from a site near Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. It soared almost 2,500 miles into space and traveled a distance of around 620 miles east before crashing into the Sea of Japan. The total flight time of 53 minutes was longer than North Korea's two previous ICBM tests . The missile was lofted high into space on a "fly-ball" trajectory, as a way to avoid alarming neighboring nations. But independent analysts say that if it had been aimed differently, it could have traveled more than 8,000 miles. "This range could cover all of the mainland United States, including FloridaNorth Korea Claims New Missile Makes It A Nuclear Powerhttp://apr.org/post/north-korea-claims-new-missile-makes-it-nuclear-power
120768 as http://apr.orgWed, 29 Nov 2017 16:46:00 +0000North Korea Claims New Missile Makes It A Nuclear PowerGeoff BrumfielCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: North Korea launched what it claims is a new intercontinental ballistic missile early on Wednesday. This is the third ICBM tested by North Korea this year. This one flew higher and for longer than previous tests, theoretically putting the entire continental United States within Pyongyang's reach, a capability that the North Korean regime has long sought. NPR science editor Geoff Brumfiel is here. He's been following this story closely. Good morning, Geoff. GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE: Good morning. GREENE: So the alarming thing here, it sounds like, is just the distance that this missile was able to cover. Is that right? BRUMFIEL: Yes. I mean, the missile only traveled about 600 miles, but it reached an altitude of 2,500 miles. Now, that's really high, way above, say, the International Space Station. GREENE: Oh, wow. BRUMFIEL: It's kind of like hitting a fly ball. So they put this thing way up into space and brought it back down toNorth Korea Launches An Apparent ICBM http://apr.org/post/north-korea-launches-apparent-icbm
120757 as http://apr.orgWed, 29 Nov 2017 12:41:00 +0000North Korea Launches An Apparent ICBM Geoff BrumfielThe tiny nation of Denmark has just three stations for monitoring atmospheric radiation. Each week, scientists change out air filters in the detectors and take the used ones to a technical university near Copenhagen. There, Sven Poul Nielsen and other researchers analyze the filters. They often snag small amounts of naturally occurring radioactivity, radon for example. Then about a month ago, Nielsen was startled to find something far stranger: a radioactive isotope known as ruthenium-106. Ruthenium-106 has a half-life of just one year, which means that it isn't naturally found on Earth. It is, however, created in the glowing cores of nuclear reactors — and usually only detected in the atmosphere when something goes terribly wrong. The ruthenium was detected far beyond Denmark. It showed up all across Europe, from Cyprus to Spain. The levels seen in dozens of nations were far too low to pose a health risk. Within weeks, the thin cloud had vanished. So far, no nation has announced aClues In That Mysterious Radioactive Cloud Point Toward Russiahttp://apr.org/post/clues-mysterious-radioactive-cloud-point-toward-russia
120184 as http://apr.orgFri, 17 Nov 2017 16:34:00 +0000Clues In That Mysterious Radioactive Cloud Point Toward RussiaGeoff BrumfielEuropean authorities are providing new details about a cloud of mysterious radioactive material that appeared over the continent last month. Monitors in Italy were among first to detect the radioactive isotope ruthenium-106 on Oct. 3, according to a fresh report by France's Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute , known as IRSN. In total, 28 European countries saw the radioactive cloud, the report says. The multinational Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation , which runs a network designed to monitor for nuclear weapons tests, also confirmed to NPR that it had detected the cloud. Based on the detection from monitoring stations and meteorological data, the mysterious cloud — which has since dissipated — has been traced to somewhere along the Russia-Kazakhstan border, according to Jean-Christophe Gariel, director for health at the IRSN. "It's somewhere in South Russia," he says, likely between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Authorities say the amount ofMysterious Radioactive Cloud Over Europe Hints At Accident Farther Easthttp://apr.org/post/mysterious-radioactive-cloud-over-europe-hints-accident-farther-east
119839 as http://apr.orgFri, 10 Nov 2017 19:07:00 +0000Mysterious Radioactive Cloud Over Europe Hints At Accident Farther EastGeoff BrumfielThe speed and ferocity of the wildfires raging through Northern California's wine country have caught many residents off guard and left state officials scrambling to contain the flames. But for fire researchers, these devastating blazes are part of a much larger pattern unfolding across the Western United States. So far this year, fires in the U.S. have consumed more than 8.5 million acres — an area bigger than the state of Maryland. "We're definitely pushing one of the largest fire years this decade," says Jennifer Balch , a fire ecologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The cause is hot, dry conditions nationwide. Heat records have been broken this year in California, Oregon and Montana. Globally, 2017 is among the hottest years on record , thanks in part to human-induced climate change. Wildfires are natural phenomena, and linking any one fire to climate change is difficult if not impossible. Nevertheless, "there is a link between a warmer, drier climate and wildfires,"California Blazes Are Part Of A Larger And Hotter Picture, Fire Researchers Sayhttp://apr.org/post/california-blazes-are-part-larger-and-hotter-picture-fire-researchers-say
118378 as http://apr.orgFri, 13 Oct 2017 17:10:00 +0000California Blazes Are Part Of A Larger And Hotter Picture, Fire Researchers SayGeoff BrumfielA final report on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 says the fate of the vanished aircraft may never be known, despite years of searching and more than $150 million in costs. The report , which includes hundreds of pages of technical appendices, contains new details about the search. Perhaps most significantly, it provided more detail about a crew member's flight simulator that contained a route similar to the one investigators think the missing plane took. The route was found on the home flight simulator of MH370's pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah. In a session from six weeks before MH370's disappearance, the simulator was used to recreate the flight of a Boeing 777-200LR, a similar model to the aircraft that was lost. The simulated path took the aircraft from Kuala Lumpur, north of Indonesia, and then south into the southern Indian Ocean. The simulated plane was flown until it ran out of fuel. Shah was off work on the day the simulation was flown, according to records. Some have suggested that aFinal Report On MH370 Says Failure To Locate Airliner Is 'Almost Inconceivable'http://apr.org/post/final-report-mh370-says-failure-locate-airliner-almost-inconceivable
117854 as http://apr.orgTue, 03 Oct 2017 17:22:00 +0000Final Report On MH370 Says Failure To Locate Airliner Is 'Almost Inconceivable'Geoff BrumfielUpdated at 10:30 a.m. ET Friday When North Korea conducted its latest nuclear test, the ground trembled more than 3,000 miles away in western Kazakhstan. Recording the shaking was AS059, an automated seismic station that's part of a global network designed to detect underground nuclear explosions. The network is run by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), a U.N.-affiliated group devoted to monitoring for illicit nuclear tests. While the test ban treaty itself is not yet in force, the United States and other nations fund the monitoring network. This wasn't the first time a North Korean bomb shook AS059. The station has detected each of the North's six nuclear tests. But as the above chart shows, this test on Sept. 3 was far more powerful than previous ones. In fact, 36 of the CTBTO's seismic stations contributed to the initial analysis and more than 100 recorded the event, which the organization says was equivalent to a magnitude 6.1 earthquake . (The U.S.Here's How Big North Korea's Latest Nuclear Test Actually Washttp://apr.org/post/heres-how-big-north-koreas-latest-nuclear-test-actually-was
116607 as http://apr.orgThu, 07 Sep 2017 19:11:00 +0000Here's How Big North Korea's Latest Nuclear Test Actually WasGeoff Brumfielhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5orHjD5FWc8 At 2:17 p.m. on May 6, 1962, a nuclear-tipped missile shot out of the waters of the Pacific Ocean and quickly disappeared into the sky. Roughly 12 minutes later and over 1,000 miles to the southwest, it detonated in a blinding flash — creating a mushroom cloud over an empty stretch of water. The test was of a submarine-launched Polaris A-2 missile . It was code-named " Frigate Bird ," and it was America's first, and only, end-to-end test of a nuclear missile. Thus far, North Korea has tested its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles separately. The nukes have detonated in deep underground chambers, while the missiles have flown on "fly-ball" trajectories that take them high into space while limiting their range. But in the wake of the North's most recent underground test , and with rumors of another ballistic missile test coming soon, some experts now fear that a Frigate Bird-type test may be coming. "That would be the ultimate way for NorthHow North Korea's Nuclear Tests Could Get Even More Terrifyinghttp://apr.org/post/how-north-koreas-nuclear-tests-could-get-even-more-terrifying
116532 as http://apr.orgWed, 06 Sep 2017 14:29:00 +0000How North Korea's Nuclear Tests Could Get Even More TerrifyingGeoff BrumfielThe blast was picked up by seismic stations all over the world, and it was big. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, which monitors the globe for nuclear tests, said that its monitoring system had gone off-scale . The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 6.3-magnitude earthquake , which was human-made. That's far larger than the seismic signature from the North's last test, conducted roughly a year ago . Here's what you need to know. This was probably not an "ordinary" nuclear test North Korea's previous nuclear tests have been in the tens of kilotons range. That corresponds roughly to a weapon the size of the ones used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. It's believed that the North's earlier tests were of nuclear weapons that use uranium or plutonium (or both) for their explosive yield. This time, the North claims to have mastered a far more powerful hydrogen weapon . Some early estimates are putting this test in the hundreds of kiloton range. "That's veryHere Are The Facts About North Korea's Nuclear Testhttp://apr.org/post/explaining-north-koreas-claim-hydrogen-bomb-test
116386 as http://apr.orgSun, 03 Sep 2017 12:07:00 +0000Here Are The Facts About North Korea's Nuclear TestGeoff BrumfielCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: People north of Houston woke up today to reports of explosions and a fire at a chemical plant that was flooded by Harvey. The plant is owned by the company Arkema. Company officials are warning of more fires. With us now to talk about this is NPR science editor Geoff Brumfiel. Hello there. GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE: Hi there. MCEVERS: So what happened at the Arkema plant? BRUMFIEL: Well, the chemicals that burned are called organic peroxides. They're used to make plastic. And they're very reactive. They have to be kept cool. So after the flooding, the cooling systems failed, and the temperature rose. A tractor trailer containing some of these chemicals basically went up in smoke. Now, there are more trailers on the site, and the company says that means there's going to be more fires to come. MCEVERS: There seems to be some confusion about how dangerous the smoke from these fires is. Let's listen to a press conference earlierChemical Plant Fire Raises Environmental Concerns In Wake Of Harveyhttp://apr.org/post/chemical-plant-fire-raises-environmental-concerns-wake-harvey
116270 as http://apr.orgThu, 31 Aug 2017 20:31:00 +0000Chemical Plant Fire Raises Environmental Concerns In Wake Of HarveyGeoff BrumfielCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Harvey is also going to be a problem for Louisiana. The state's governor, John Bel Edwards, warns today that the worst is likely to come for us here. The National Weather Service forecasts heavy rains for southwest Louisiana through Thursday. Right now there are flash flood watches in effect through Thursday night. And this also goes for southeast Texas. We're joined by NPR's science editor, Geoff Brumfiel, who's been tracking Harvey from the beginning, and also NPR's Jason Beaubien, who is on the road. He's been traveling from Dallas to Louisiana today. And we're reaching him in Jasper, Texas. Jason, let me start with you. What have you seen on your drive? JASON BEAUBIEN, BYLINE: Well, I've been seeing a lot of rain, which obviously is really concerning because, you know, right now I'm about 150 miles northeast of Houston and it's been raining hard since being about 200 miles north of Houston. So you're getting a lot of rainLouisiana, Texas Prepare For More Rain From Tropical Storm Harveyhttp://apr.org/post/louisiana-texas-prepare-more-rain-tropical-storm-harvey
116099 as http://apr.orgMon, 28 Aug 2017 21:26:00 +0000Louisiana, Texas Prepare For More Rain From Tropical Storm HarveyGeoff BrumfielThe rain just won't stop. More than two days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast, the downgraded storm continues to dump water across the region. So much rain has fallen in the Houston area that the National Weather Service has had to revamp its charts . Climate researchers agree that climate change can be partially to blame for the devastation. Here's how it has (and hasn't) shaped the course of the storm. Climate change may have helped Harvey to form and intensify This year saw high sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, where Harvey formed. According to an analysis published in March , the Gulf stayed above 73 degrees Fahrenheit the entire winter. At the time Harvey intensified into a Category 4 hurricane, it was over a section of the Gulf that was about 4 degrees above normal, says Martin Hoerling , a research meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colo. "The water in the Gulf of Mexico is the heat reservoirHow A Warmer Climate Helped Shape Harveyhttp://apr.org/post/how-warmer-climate-helped-shape-harvey
116084 as http://apr.orgMon, 28 Aug 2017 19:46:00 +0000How A Warmer Climate Helped Shape HarveyGeoff BrumfielEclipses are among the most predictable events on the planet. This one was known about for many decades before it crossed the U.S. earlier Monday. Accordingly, people had been planning eclipse road trips for weeks in advance. They piled into planes and cars and made their way to the 70-mile-wide swath of land where the total eclipse would be visible. They checked online calculators, which told them the time of totality down to the second. And yet for all the certainty, when Americans finally stopped to look up, many were gobsmacked by what they saw. For a couple of minutes, the temperature dropped, dusk fell in midday, and the sun was replaced by a circle of wispy white light — the glow of the solar corona, which is visible only when the moon directly blocks the sun's rays. There were gasps and cheers as the eclipse made its first appearance over Oregon in the midmorning local time. From there it swept across the nation at more than 1,000 miles per hour. In Idaho they watched fromPHOTOS: The Day The Eclipse Came To Americahttp://apr.org/post/photos-day-eclipse-came-america
115741 as http://apr.orgMon, 21 Aug 2017 22:51:00 +0000PHOTOS: The Day The Eclipse Came To America